Not love letters, but out of love
by Wanwanbarks
Summary: Touma and Haruka are exchanging letters as part of their rivalry.
1. Chapter 1

It's been a while since we started exchanging letters. Neither of us has much free time to meet up, with our schedules being so different. But for some reason the letters never stopped.

Most of them were updates on our work progress; they were almost like diary entries we'd send the other. We'd sometimes send each other tickets to concerts our agencies hold, and now with all the new idols in both our agencies, we'd recently started inviting the other to concerts which we weren't a part of. The letter-sending itself was sort of a rivalry between us, or at least that's how it started. I was the one who started it all. We were both in a bit of a slump and I decided to just send her a ticket to our first concert with the new agency. Later I asked her for a ticket to her agency's arena-live concert and the letters went on and on.

As usual my father would bring in the mail. "That girl sent you another one" he'd say grinning and I'd nonchalantly take it up to my room and thoroughly read through it. He always referred to Haruka as 'that girl.' My guess is it's because he's never met her before.

**_Dear Amagase-kun_**, this is how her letters always started, **_I was given the opportunity to be in a TV series! Are you jealous? Of course, I have to pass the audition first... Ehehehe... Anyway, Makoto-chan told me that you weren't feeling well. She and Ijuuin-san are getting really close aren't they? Well, I hope you get well soon! I don't want my rival to be held back! So be sure to get plenty of rest so you get better ASAP! Your rival- Amami Haruka_**, and she'd scribble a little smiley face at the end of her signature.

I hated the fact that she still calls me by my last name, but we barely meet so I never really bothered to tell her to call me by my first. I read the letter again. I felt happy for her, then I shook my head, _what are you thinking Touma?_ I had to surpass her somehow. It was bad enough we had to start from scratch when Haruka's agency was at its best. Sometimes I wondered if we'd ever be able to reach up to them, but secretly. I didn't want the others to think I'm some weakling.

I sat at my desk looking at a blank piece of paper thinking about what to write back to her. **_Dear Haruka,_** I started, but then I stopped. I had nothing to write! With being stuck inside for the past week, nothing interesting really happened. Suddenly my phone went off. I answered it without looking who was calling.

"Touma! I'm not disturbing you, am I?" I'd recognise that voice anywhere. It was Ken, the secretary at 315pro. "I know you're probably not going to like this, but we got a phone call that gave the younger boys an opportunity to work with a famous director."

"What does this have to do with me?" I actually wanted to say _'stop beating around the bush and get on with it'_

"Well you're the only one free next week and I was hoping you could take the boys to the auditions." I thought for a second. These boys were younger than me. If he was referring to the boys in the Unit Mofumofuen, then they are all 9 years old, younger than any of the idols in Haruka's agency. This could be a big opportunity for our agency.

"Sure I'll do it" I said. Ken thanked me and hung up. At least now I had something to write back to Haruka.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay guys. All three of you will be auditioning for this part, but I don't want the others to be jealous or start fighting about it" I said to the 9-year-old trio standing in front of me. There was Shiro, Kanon and Nao, the 3 boys that made up Mofumofuen. Shiro was the most enthusiastic of the 3, but Kanon and Nao seemed excited as well.

"Don't worry Touma-senpai!" Nao calmly said "We'll do our best"

"AH!" Shiro screamed "its 765pro!"

"Not so loud Shiro, they'll hear you" The remaining boy shushed.

"Guys, you can't go into the audition just thinking about the idols from 765" Okay I admit it; I was trying to act cool in front of the kids. The thought of one of the girls from Haruka's agency being there was not exactly my cup of tea, but, well, I learned to deal with this kind of situations. "It's all the more reason to do your best to try to surpass them!"

"Is that so? Then maybe I should up my game." A soft female voice came from behind me. "I didn't know you were so competitive Amagase-kun, maybe I should up my game." I turned around and my jaw literally dropped.

"HARUKA?!" The girl giggled and turned to the younger boys who took a step back each as she kneeled down to them.

"I look forward to working with one of you" She said smiling. The boys blushed a bit and looked at each other.

For the rest of the wait we stood there in silence, occasionally moving around, but no sudden changes. It was awkward. Haruka and I talked all the time! Is sending letters really that different?

After the boys were called in to the audition room, Haruka and I walked outside together. Ken was to pick up the boys later. We stood there just outside the building- it had started snowing while we were inside the building. Haruka checked her phone.

"Do you have a job now?" I asked

"No" she started "I honestly thought the auditions would take much longer so I reserved the day, but it's barely 4:00pm yet"

"Well I'm free now too" I paused. I shouldn't have said that "I mean... We could go somewhere and just talk... cuz well we send each other letters and all, but we never really... well..." at this point I decided to just stop talking. It was not like me to talk so much, nor was it like me to go out with a friend (or in Haruka's case- rival)

"Amagase-kun" Haruka swung into my view. She had her arms behind her back "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well no, not exactly" I said looking away "Forget it, it'd probably be trouble anyway"

"Not at all!" She interrupted "I would love to go on a date with you" Her face seemed so happy it made me feel a bit tranquil.

We walked to a nearby park. We both had disguises on- basically a hat and a pair of fake specs, although there weren't that many people around. Better safe than sorry. We wandered around as if it felt awkward to stand in one place for too long. It also seemed out of character for us to talk.

"The snow must have really piled up this morning!" Haruka exclaimed "It wasn't snowing when I got to the auditions"

"It did snow a bit last night" Haruka wasn't from around here. In fact she wrote in one of her lessons once that her train ride is 2 hours long! God knows how early this girl wakes up to get to work here.

Haruka walked past me, over to a little girl who was crying. She kneeled to her, telling her not to cry and that everything will be all right. Turns out she was crying over a snowman which she had built before some boys destroyed it.

"Don't worry. This big brother and I will help you build an even bigger snowman!" I didn't want to be dragged into this, but she was trying to help out a little girl so I decided to just go along with it and we slowly built a snowman whose height was in the range between Haruka's and mine.

"I think we did a decent job" I said looking at the snowman. I'm not a very artistic person (for an idol) but I was proud of it. What's even better is that I did it with Haruka. That was the first time we ever did anything with an idol from 765pro. The little girl thanked us and ran off to show the snowman to her mother. He mother... I wondered if mine could it from where she was. Do I even stand out enough for her to notice me?

"Touma-kun? Are you all right?" Haruka asked. This was the first time she ever called me by my first name.

"I'm fine." I started "I just... This outfit! I don't really like disguises"

"None of us do" She paused "Except for maybe the twins"

The thought of the twins playing detective in the middle of the road made me want to laugh, but I contained myself. Then I remembered how similar their personalities are with Shouta's and I couldn't help but at least smile at the thought of Shouta running around in cosplay.

"What? What did I say?" She fumbled around

"Sorry" I broke into silent laughter

"But your smile is so cute!"

"What?" I turned away, but Haruka still made her way into my plane of sight. I covered my mouth with my arm and tried not to make eye contact, but she kept moving closer and closer until she tripped in _MY_ feet and we both went tumbling down on that very snowman we worked so hard to build.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look what I..." The little girl stopped in a gasp. Haruka's eyes were close to mine, so close that we couldn't avert one another's gaze. My arms were wrapped around her waist and hers on my chest. She had a tiny waist, fit for an idol.

Suddenly a flash of light came from the side. "Mommy! It's Amami Haruka and Amagase Touma from Jupiter!" The little girl yelled. Before we knew it a crowd had formed around us. I grabbed Haruka's arm and hat and squeezed thought the crowd, running as fast as I could, away from the crowd. When we moved to a safe distance, I brushed the snow off Haruka's hair and put on her hat for her. We couldn't risk being seen together for the time being so I walked her to the station and silently hoped that the white flash I saw earlier was just my imagination.


	3. Chapter 3

That night I couldn't sleep well. I tossed and turned in my bed, but the thought of what happened at the park kept creeping in my head. Somehow at around 4 in the morning I managed to doze of mid-thought. It didn't last long as my phone went off only 2 hours later.

"We have a problem" The person on the phone said. For the sake of it being 6 in the morning I assumed it was Ken. "Come to the agency as soon as possible, sooner if possible" And he just hung up, not even asking if it were me on the phone. I rolled back in my bed and pinched my cheek to check that I was awake. Surely enough it was no dream.

I made my way to the agency and by 6:45 I was at the main office where Ken and President Takashi welcomed me.

"Can you explain this?" The president asked. Some Welcome! He threw a magazine on the coffee table as we were sitting on the small couch we had in the building. It was a small agency so we couldn't afford to redecorate much. I took the magazine and flipped it open. To my horrifying distaste, the first thing I saw was "**SCANDALOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 795Pro AND 315Pro**" in large bold letters. Just beneath it was a photo of me and Haruka after she fell on me in the snow. It was blurry, taken with nothing more than a phone, but it was clear enough to tell that it was us.

"She tripped and we fell" I casually said.

"And you think the press is going to buy that?!" The president asked.

"Well it's the truth!" I threw the magazine back on the table and sat back "I don't get what the big deal is." I lied. I could see all the makings of a big deal.

"You're rivals!" He stated "You're not even from the same agency!" He paused to calm down "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"We've never gone out before! We were both at the boys' audition set and felt like releasing some stress." I looked President Takashi in the eyes "Normal people talk you know?"

The president stood up "You will go over to 765Pro and formally apologize. Amami Haruka does not deserve such treatment because of you"

I cared for Haruka- more than anyone else in her agency anyway- so I decided to listen to him and went to 765Pro to apologize. The greeting there was just as welcoming. As I started up the stairs, 3 girls walked from the other direction. If I remembered correctly, these 3 girls made up 961Pro before Jupiter took over.

"Well done Jupiter!" the one with the tanned skin started. Her hamster sat on her shoulder.

"Your actions are unforgivable" The one with the silver hair continued. I looked at the third member- the fake-blonde one- waiting for an insult from her.

"I have nothing against you and Haruka having a relationship, but you can say 'goodbye' to your carrier as an idol if you so much as hurt her." The three kept on walking. They were very close, I could see that. It was clear that they were a unit once.

I continued up the stairs, to the main office door. I could hear voices inside, one of which was Haruka's.

"I know you're known for you clumsiness Haruka, but this is too much!" said a rough, nasal, female voice. "What were you doing with one of 315Pro's Idols?" Now this is what I don't get. Shouta has had various commercial shots with one of the twins and the other one with the twin tails. Hokuto has even asked 2 of their girls out! Why are they fussing about my (somewhat non-existent) relationship with Haruka?

As I was about to knock on the door, 2 of their agency's idols- including one of the girls Hokuto had asked out- opened the door.

"Makoto, isn't he one of 315Pro's idols?" The other asked. She had long pink hair pulled back in a pony tail with a blond dye in her hair. I had seen these two perform live together on TV.

"Amagase?" Makoto asked. She had a sudden bitterness in her expression "Is this about the magazine article?" I nodded and they let me in. There were others in the office, not just the ones I had heard. On one side there were two of the younger girls who cowered behind the sofa as I walked in. They were accompanied by the girl with the twintails.

"Come here to apologise?" the one with the glasses asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Touma has nothing to apologise for!" Haruka shouted "I'm the one who tripped and fell!" I think this was the first time I had ever heard Haruka get angry.

"I would like to apologise anyway" I bowed

"Apologies aside..." She started "What were you two doing together in the park anyway?"

The girl with the twin tails stood up "What's so wrong with them hanging out? When Mami-san and I have jobs with Jupiter-san we always talk casually!"

The younger girls were now on their knees on the sofa "Why can't we be friends with Jupiter and 315Pro?" said one of them.

"Yeah some of them are our age!" said the other.

Silence took over for a little while. The girl with the glasses was deep in thought. She didn't seem to have a problem with our relationship on a personal level. Then their secretary broke the silence.

"Why don't we settle the problem with an interview then?"

We agreed that we can at least do this much. We decided that the interview will be held on the following day at the 765Pro main office and the interview would be published on the very same magazine that featured the 'scandalous' article.

Haruka walked me to the main entrance "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused" She said before we parted "This is all my fault, I should be the one handling the situation"

As she lowered her head to the floor I reached out and messed her hair. "Cheer up would you? It's not like you to be in a slump"

"Well it doesn't seem very appropriate to laugh now does it?"

I retreated my arm and leaned back "Well what good will worrying do?"

I MADE MY WAY to the 315Pro agency building. Outside, Shouta was with one of the twins from Haruka's agency- the one with the longer side tail, which was covered by her hood- and they were having a normal chat along with Kyosuke and Yusuke – the twins from _our_ agency. The girl had an unusual face. It was normally cheerful with a mischievous grin stretched across it. This time it looked worried. Even Shouta looked a bit out of the loop.

Just before I walked to them Kyosuke and Yusuke waved to Shouta and walked past me, calling out and saying goodbye before heading to their next job.

"So did you settle everything?" Shouta asked.

"Mami got a text from Yayoicchi" The girl said in the third person "She said something about an interview"

I nodded

"What about Harurun? How is she taking it?"

"I bet it's really hard for her to take in what a real pervert you are" Shouta said.

"Pervert?! It was an accident!" I didn't know what else to say.

Just before Shouta said goodbye to Mami, she turned to me "Mami may not be the most mature of the idols in 765Pro, but even I think it's nice that Harurun has made Amatou her friend and rival" And she ran off before I could respond. Shouta and I walked into the building, but nothing else really happened that day. All that was left to do was wait for the interview.


	4. Chapter 4

As much as I agreed with Mami the day before, I felt a bit worried. What if they say I can't see Haruka anymore? We could go back to sending each other letters, but it won't be the same now that we actually spent time together and got to know each other. Her smiling face made me feel relaxed and at times when I knew she was feeling sad or lonely I would want to see her and personally turn her sad face into a smiling one- the one which had tranquillity written all over it- and these events only made it worse.

At first it was just an innocent date to the park (if you could call it that). We were acquaintances. I never would have thought that two people could become so close in such a short period of time.

I took the bus to Tokyo, even though my house isn't that far away. I wanted to be sure I wasn't late for the interview. As I was walking to Haruka's agency someone tapped my shoulder. It was Kaoru, an Idol from our agency.

"Are you going to 765Pro?" He asked. I nodded "Good. I have a job with one of their Idols now so I thought I'd go and introduce myself before we get there"

"Careful, you might end up in the magazines like I did." It was so unlike Kaoru to talk much. "You seem to be looking forward to meeting this girl" I teased.

"Well I heard some rumours about her which I can sort of relate to" Kaoru was smiling. "You don't seem to be looking forward to seeing that girl"

"I would much rather see her when we're not going to an interview to save our carriers"

As we got to 765Pro, a girl with long blue hair walked out and put her hat on. Kaoru called her "Kisaragi" by her last name, as she called him "Sakuraba" by his. After exchanging a smile they both left for their job, something about a sports appearance. I walked up the stairs to the main office where Haruka was talking to some other girls. They waved to her and left. She walked to me and took me to another room where the reporter was waiting.

"Well now. Don't hold back you two, I'm not being paid to worsen your condition" He joked as we sat down in front of him. "Let's start with some questions shall we? How long have you two been going out?"

"We aren't!" We responded simultaneously. We exchanged glances, but quickly looked away.

I sat back in my seat "We simply felt the need to let off some steam. You know? Get a load off our shoulders" I peered over to Haruka. She was looking down at her legs deep in thought. "Though I admit, I could've chosen a less public pla..."

"It was my fault" Haruka interrupted. She looked up in a smile, one of her now-I-did-it smiles. "You know me. I'm so clumsy I can't chew gum and walk straight. My laces must have come undone and I fell" She scratched the back of her head and forces a little laugh.

"You don't have to blame yourself. The park was a public place" I said.

"But it was fun" She whispered "The truth is we didn't get to talk, all we did was build a stupid snowman, and I ruined it"

"You two seem to be a bit frustrated" The reporter said "Why don't I give you some time to think about it?" He stood up and walked out of the room.

"Haruka, Why did you say that?"

"Because it's better off that way! I'm already known for being clumsy!"

"Don't be an idiot" I put my hands on her shoulders "What if they blame it on you? What if you don't get any more jobs because of this?"

"Why are you being so protective of me?"

"Because I had fun too that day!"

After a while the reporter came back in and asked us a few more questions. We agreed to most of them, but that one question we didn't agree on- whose fault was it? In the end we decided it didn't matter, and focussed on the more important things like getting our jobs straight again.


	5. Chapter 5

"You really like this girl don't you?"Said the blonde idiot standing about a meter away from me during a break from one of our photoshoots. While I wanted to respect him as a comrade, and also because he was older than me, I could not let him make such accusations.

"Oh so you hang around the765Pro Prince because you like her?" I blurted out. Although I knew he had asked her out before we changed agencies, that was ages ago, so I assumed any feeling he had for her were long gone.

"I'm different from you Touma" He started "I greet all the ladies with the love and respect they deserve. Mako-chan is no exception. You, on the other hand hardly even talk to a girl in a friendly manner, so what's so special about Haruka-chan?"

I couldn't deny that he had a point, but could it be that I was starting to like her and more than a pen pal? Was it okay to fall for her anyway? "Let's assume for a second that I do like her. It's not like we can even see each other with all the rumors going around now. The public already thinks we're dating!"

"And just who is stopping you from making that rumor into a reality?"

For days I thought about what Hokuto had said. To be honest, the more I thought about it the more I stated to want to see Haruka. I wanted to be sure of what my feelings for her were, but I couldn't. Our schedule was so full now with new jobs that we hardly had any time to breathe let alone meet up.

A few days later my father called me down for a letter. Haruka had sent me another one! I tore it open in front of my father, inside were 3 tickets to the live she was holding with Mami and the Prince. Along with the tickets were backstage passes, but there was no note, just those.

"Is something wrong son?"

"No everything is fine dad" I looked at the torn envelope. The date read 24th December. Christmas eve? Why would she want Jupiter backstage on Christmas eve? But I decided not to question it so I gave the tickets to Hokuto and Shouta first chance I got and we went to the concert.

The concert itself didn't really fascinate me. My eyes were glued to Haruka and the way her red and white two-piece wrinkled as she danced. After the concert we made our way backstage. The girls had already changed. The twin sprang onto Shouta in a large hug ad the Prince casually walked to Hokuto smiling and laughing. But then when Haruka and I so much as make eye contact it's considered inappropriate.

"Did you enjoy the concert?" She asked.

"It was... very lively" Then I looked at her from the corner of my eye. Her eyes were sparkling "I can do better though" I grinned.

"But it was better than your last live admit it!"

"Come on you two" Hokuto shouted.

"Yeah come on we're gonna be late for the party" The prince continued. Party? What Party?

We followed the girls to their studio which was lit up from the outside. In the office where 2 signs which read MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUKIHO. The office was swarming with Idols. The younger idols were giggling and gossiping, the older ones were talking normally.

No one looked at us strangely when we walked in. Actually some of them welcomed us in. Were we invited to the party? I was sure the backstage pass didn't come with a party invitation.

"Takane texted me! They just got off the train!" one of the girls shouted. Two of the younger girls rand to the office window. The twins followed them. I noticed the one with the longer hair was constantly checking her phone.

"Come on girls!" Shouta said putting his arms round both the twins. "Let's play detective! First one to see the birthday girl wins!" Wait did he know? Did they tell him?

"Hokuto..." I started, but he was on the phone.

"Yeah that's the one" He said "Okay see you" and he hung up "Sorry did you say something?"

"You knew about the party too?"

"Of course! Everyone knew." He paused "Well Except for 2 people in this room, 3 counting the birthday girl" I looked around. Many of the girls were on their phones, calling or texting someone, not just the twins. I had no idea our agencies were so close to be honest.

As the door opened, two girls walked into the office. I assumed the one witht he short brown hair was Yukiho from her reaction (and also because I had jobs with the silver haired one before). A few minutes later a group of boys from our agency showed up, most of them either apologising for being late or just joining a conversation with the girls. There were too many people in just this one room, in fact most of them fanned out into the rest of the agency. We took up all of the practice rooms and there still wasn't enough space to go around. I walked outside. The snow was really piling up that night. Good thing I live in Kanagawa, which is only a bus ride away.

"Amagase-kun?" I looked around and saw Haruka at the door holding my scarf. In all the confusion I must have forgotten to put it on. "You're going to catch a cold"

"Won't be the first time" I took the scarf and wrapped it round my neck "Thanks you for inviting me to the party"

"I didn't!" She said "I didn't know any of the boys were invited. Makoto and Iori were in charge of the invitations" I crouched down; my shoes now half-buried into the snow. "I'm sorry if it's a bother. Iori must have heard from Ritsuko-san"

"Heard what?"

"I sort of asked her to make sure that the park incident didn't effect you or your agency" She did that? But she was the one getting the bad publicity!

"Haruka..." I started to get up but my shoes were completely covered in the snow and I tripped. Haruka grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her. Before I knew it she was against the wall and I was only inches away.

A flash of light came from the balcony above and as we looked up the twin girls were laughing.

"Careful it might go public!" Shouta shouted.

"Shouta!" I started running up the stairs.

As I entered the room that lead to the balcony, the twins from our agency tackled me to the ground.

"Chill man!" Yusuke started.

"Yeah it was a photo prank!" Kyosuke continued.

Haruka ran into the room "Guys what were you thinking?!"

"Relax Harurun! It was a prank" The twin with the shorter hair said as she handed her the phone. There really weren't any photos. "Honestly! We may not be the oldest, but don't you think this has been going on for a bit too long?" She was right. This has been going on for too long.

For the rest of the party Haruka and I opened up a bit. She and I never did have that relaxing talk we wanted.

"Wow these are really good! Did you make them?" I asked as I took another bite from the cookies Haruka was handing out.

"Iku-chan helped" Iku was just behind her. She was this adorable 9-year-old girl who seemed to get along with just about anyone.

"Maybe I can help too next time?" I said patting her head.

"Touma-senpai you can bake?" She said.

"I didn't know you could either" Haruka exclaimed "When did you learn? What's your specialty?"

"I don't know. I've been cooking since my mother was hospitalized and I just sort of never stopped" I looked away as I was talking and then made eye contact again. Iku was crying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude" she sniffed. I messed her hair.

"Don't worry about it it's okay. Now go play with the other girls" I felt so out of character I was crying inside. As Iku ran off to play, Haruka sat on the couch next to me.

"That was so sweet of you"

"Well making a little girl cry isn't exactly on my bucket list."

"But I think it's wonderful that you can cook" She looked at me and smiled "I always knew you were a softie"

Blood rushed to my face, my heart was now racing.


	6. Chapter 6

The party soon ended and we all parted ways and head home. It was around time for the last train to pass so everyone could get home safely. I also had to take the train because the last bus had already passed. Haruka took the train to Kanagawa with me and stopped at the station to take another train home. I waited with her for half an hour before she decided to go ask when the train will arrive.

"The train's not coming" She said about to break into tears "They said the track is covered in snow and it's not safe. What do I do? I can't go home"

After calming her down I called my father to tell him what happened.

"Well that's no problem just bring her over. She can stay the night." He started "Just make sure she lets her parents know" He hung up before I could respond. The thought of bringing Haruka home for the night was embaressing. She probably didn't know what to expect from an all-guy household. To be honest I was going to ask him to drive her in the car, but it was almost as if he wanted her to stay over. And he seemed almost happy about it!

Haruka phoned her parents on the way to my house. We both entered and took off our shoes. As I slipped into my usual indoor slippers I noticed dad had taken out mom's old pair for Haruka to use. We both walked to the living room where my father was sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of tea and reading a magazine, like he always did.

"Oh! You must be Haruka-chan!" He said. He put his cup on the coffee table and walked over to shake Haruka's hand. "You two must be tired. I prepared a warm bath for you upstairs, and don't worry about a change of clothes you can borrow Touma's"

"Thank you. you're very kind" Haruka said with a flushed face. I was too dumbfounded with the situation to think of a way to respond to what my father had just said.

I took her to my room and opened one of my clothes drawers. Just the thought of a girl wearing my clothes was enough to send blood rushing to my head. I took out a button up pajama shirt and it's corresponding pair of trousers and handed them to her.

"Um..." I stammered as I made my way to my underwear drawer. I looked at her, but she was looking away.

"It's okay. I always carry a fresh one in case of well... you know..." I showed her the way to the bathroom and went back downstairs to talk to my father.

"Dad are you crazy?" whispered so that Haruka wouldn't hear me "I'm fine with her staying here, but a bath? and wearing my clothes?"

"Oh be a man would you?" He said "You're already old enough to get married Touma, I don't want you to end up alone like I did"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I don't want you to stop yourself from seeing girls as potential partners because your mom passed away." He put his had on my shoulder "Especially not the cute ones"

"But why Haruka?" I brushed his hand off my shoulder "why are you so forward with her?"

"Because you aren't!" He started to make his way to his room.

"Aren't you going to help me take out the futon?" I asked.

"You crazy? Are you really going to let her sleep on the floor?" He shouted. I was going to suggest that I sleep on the futon, but the old pervert had a better idea. "You can share your bed" At that moment so much blood rushed into my face that I nearly forgot how to speak. I fought for words.

"You can't possibly trust us that much"

"Whoever said anything about trusting you? You're sleeping with the door open tonight. If you do anything inappropriat don't expect to hear the end of it" He continued to his room and I went into the kitchen and made Haruka and myself some hot chocolate.

As I passed the bathroom, Haruka exited. She was wearing my clothes, naturally, I just didn't think they'd look so good on her. She had a towel on her head which she was using to dry her hair. As our eyes met we both looked away.

"Thank you for letting me use your bath" She said, her cheeks red with embaressment.

She followed me to my room and I sent her mug on the bed-side table. She stood at the doorway, looking aroun my room. It must have been her first time in a boy's room. She took a few steps forward, actually entering the room and turned to face the wall. Her eyes fell on my figurine collection. She stood on her toes as if she saw somthing that picked her interest. I walked to her ad pulled down one of the figurines on the top shelf. It was her latest christmas themed figurine.

"I'm a little embarressed now that you're seeing it. But I'm a collector, so it's part of my hobby" I lied. I quickly tried to change the subject. "Your chocolate is getting cold." I sat on the bed - legs crossed - and drank my hot chocolate.

"I hope I'm not being a bother" She said taking her hot chocolate.

"Don't worry about it, I think the geezer is actually happy that you're here" I put my mug, now empty, on the bed side table "You see when my mother died, he had to play both roles. He's afraid that her death might have given me the wrong impression on relationships" and I secretly started to agree.

Haruka put her mug on the bedside table and kneeled on my bed in front of me. She put her hands behind my neck and pulled me towards her. We were so close I was afraid she could hear my heartbeat. It was nostalgic, like when my mother was still alive.

"Touma. I care for you" She said as our foreheads touched and shut her eyes tightly as she pressed her lips against mine. At first I was shocked, but I slowly closed my eyes and wrapped my arms round her waist. The kiss lasted a while longer, but I broke it.

"You know?" I started "If the media..." She interrupted me with her laughter.

"Of all the things you could think of right now you think of the media?" We both laughed for a while longer until we fell asleep.


End file.
